“Remember, remember, the Fifth of November” – history buffs (and pretty much all the people who read or watched V for Vendetta) will no doubt associate that line with Guy Fawkes, instigator of the Gunpowder Treason, and a modern-day mascot for the concept of Anarchy. But now we’re forced to do more than just remember the Fifth of November; we’re forced to either dread it or anticipate it – depending on which side you take. The hacker group, “Anonymous”, famous for their acts of “Hacktivism”, has vowed to destroy Facebook on the 5^th of November.

They released a video message saying that “the medium of communication we all so dearly adore will be destroyed”. How they plan to do this, they didn’t say. But if history is to be based upon, then you can expect them to literally take down Facebook and make it unavailable, just as they have previously done to government websites and also some corporate websites such as Sony, possibly through a DDoS Attack.

Of course, that’s only going to happen if Facebook fails to thwart them; and with nearly three months of fair warning given, it’s likely that the social networking site will reinforce its defenses. It certainly won’t be the first time that this group has been blocked, as the Israeli government’s Tehila has proved successful in doing so just this June 28 when the group promised to take the site down within the next 24 hours, only to have the next 24 hours pass without incident.

Still, successful or not, Anonymous has already received much attention from the ‘netizens’, and has gotten its message across; the message being that Facebook is not to be trusted. They have accused the company of selling our information to government agencies and giving clandestine access to security firms, firms which work for governments, such as those of Egypt and Syria, among others.

They also said that security settings are a sham and that what we post on Facebook stays on Facebook, regardless of whether or not we delete it. They also say that it’s impossible to delete our Facebook accounts, and that even if we try to do so, the information still stays on the site and can be recovered anytime. This last bit is pretty much true, as you’ll find out if you try to deactivate your account and reactivate it. Whether their other allegations are true or not, however, is still a big question mark.

“Facebook knows more about you than your family”, warns Anonymous ominously on the video, “You are not safe from hem nor from any government.” Anonymous claims that one day we will look back and realize that what they have done is right and that they are not harming us, but actually “saving” us. They closed the message by telling everyone to prepare for November 5, 2011 – a day which will go down in history and, of course, with their signature “We are anonymous, we are legion, we do not forgive, we do not forget. Expect us.”